Tony Scott Remembered

We were devastated to hear the news of the death of one of Hollywood and Madison Avenue's most prolific and inspiring talents, Tony Scott. Yesterday afternoon, the man behind blockbuster films, hundreds of commercials and one of the advertising/entertainment industries' top production companies reportedly jumped to his death off a bridge in Los Angeles. He was 68.

Scott leaves a filmic legacy of surprising breadth, full of high octane thrills and stylistic daring, including '80s-defining actioner "Top Gun," cult classics like "True Romance" and more recent films like "Unstoppable," "The Taking of Pelham 123," "Enemy of the State" and "Man on Fire," as well as hundreds of commercials, for clients like Barclays, Dodge, Mountain Dew and BMW.

Outside of his films, Scott was instrumental in building family-run production company RSA, along with his older brother, director/producer Ridley Scott. In 2007, when RSA turned 40, it still easily ranked among the top production shops," despite the fact it was run by "a bunch of old farts," Tony Scott jokingly told Creativity for a story about the company's anniversary.

While it's easy to admire Scott for his extreme output, more endearing was his unabashed desire to play and test different techniques. "I'm always criticized for style over content," he said. "But I hate repeating myself. I'm always reaching to tell stories in a different way and push people to have to think about what they're looking at and wrap their heads around it in a different way.

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I know that I can shoot and handle stuff in a way which is much more acceptable, not as challenging, but that's not what I enjoy doing. I enjoy reaching for difference. That's exciting to me. Sometimes I miss, sometimes I hit, but I always enjoy the process."

Scott's work, and life, have served as a huge inspiration for creatives across the board, including his own brother. "He's shown me that anything is possible," Ridley Scott had told Creativity for the 40th anniversary story. "He climbed El Capitan, which has a vertical face of 4,000 feet, after a hip transplant. He's a lunatic. He'll say, 'No, no, no. No problem.' His 'No, no, no. No problem' is invigorating. That's what it's about. It's the driving force of life, really. You're either a person who pushes forward, or not."

Below, a handful of Tony Scott's commercial work.

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Ann-Christine Diaz

Ann-Christine Diaz is the Creativity Editor at Ad Age. She has been covering the creative world of advertising and marketing for more than a decade. Outside of the job, she can be found getting in touch with her own creativity.